CEMEX reaffirm commitment to UN SDGs
Company showcases sustainability progress and commitments at United Nations General Assembly
CEMEX announced today (20 September) that they are reaffirming their commitment to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those focused on climate action; sustainable cities and communities; responsible consumption and production; and industry, innovation, and infrastructure.
CEMEX’s chief executive officer, Fernando A. González, participated in a CEO roundtable hosted by UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the UN’s New York City headquarters on Monday 19 September. The roundtable included 11 CEOs representing companies from around the globe and focused on proposals for strengthening the private sector’s commitment to the SDGs.
‘CEMEX’s core purpose is to build a better, more sustainable, future, said Mr González. ‘We recently agreed to strengthen our partnership with the UN on topics aligned with our strategy and areas of expertise including sustainable finance, supply chain, diversity and inclusion, and a just transition to a carbon neutral economy. Moreover, through our flagship decarbonization programme, Future in Action, we seek to lead the way in climate action for the building materials industry.’
In 2022, for the second consecutive year, the world achieved little progress towards the SDG 2030 targets. The roundtable united leaders from companies that are strongly contributing to the UN Global Compact (UNGC) to discuss how to inspire ambitious and principled business leadership committed to achieving the SDGs. The UNGC is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative and provides an ideal platform for the private sector to align its strategies and operations to the SDGs.
Recent contributions to the SDGs by CEMEX include the launch of Vertua, the company’s lower-carbon and net-zero CO2 family of products; agreements to clean beaches and waterways, including the river Nile, and use the recovered waste as an alternative fuel in their operations; a new concrete 3D printing construction solution with the potential to reduce housing costs; and the transition of several cement plants to renewable electricity.
CEMEX were also present at the SDG Investment Forum organized by the UNGC’s CFO Coalition. At the event, CEMEX’s chief finance officer, Maher Al-Haffar, spoke about CEMEX’s decarbonization pathway, the experience of aligning the company’s investments to the SDGs, and the innovations required to deliver only net-zero concrete by 2050.
Earlier this year CEMEX published their Green Financing Framework, which, which together with their Sustainability-Linked Framework, aligns their corporate finance strategy to their sustainability commitments and supports the financing of SDG-aligned investments in areas such as CO2 emissions reduction, clean electricity, energy efficiency, clean transportation, water management, air quality, circular economy, and waste management.
